[2000-01-15-WWA Texas] Johnny Mantell vs Bronx Bomber Vinny

[Loss]

Well, this was something I took a chance on and I'm glad I did. As Southern-fried as it gets, and a total throwback to 1980s rasslin'. This was a crowd that loved their hero (Mantell) and hated their villains (The Bronx Bombers, of which Vinny was one half), and this match is a masters class in pro wrestling psychology. It's easy to get wrapped up in the nostalgic feel and the hot crowd, but the action is pretty good too. Slow building, but violent. There's a pretty nasty looking kneelift from Vinny (who worked like a vet and I'm assuming has worked under other names) down the stretch, and he's also got a really nice piledriver. I feel confident saying this would have made the Mid South set -- it probably would have blended in during final ranking, but the match would have made the set pretty easily. ***1/2

[Stiva]

Yeah, this was a fantastic little surprise to come across. Something that I really enjoyed in the early stages is how violent and rough they made simple exchanges look; locking up, for instance, had real bite and tackle to it. Obviously, the crowd helped this but I think their enthusiasm really was as a result of what was going on in the ring and outside. There was some great, simple, effective heeling and it was at that kind of pace where every piece of offense matters and builds heat. I recognise at this point I'm just describing what makes an 80s wrestling match great but it's refreshing to see that, when chairs were smashed and tables were breaking, this kind of wrestling could still be viable and entertaining.

 

Also, I'd love to see what The Bronx Bombers could do in a tag setting. I hope they have some hidden, great southern tags out there somewhere.

[Tim Evans]

So I didn't like this as much as you two but it was interesting to see. I didn't think you would see a crowd like this except for maybe the Carolinas and Kentucky around this time. It was nice to see. Mantell played the hero babyface well but Vinny was awful. Not as awful as the commentary though.Interesting match to see compared to the other indie stuff in 2000.

[GSR]

We’ve only had one lock up and after he comes up on the wrong end of it, Vinny is already complaining about a pull of the hair. Shoulder tackle by Mantell and now the he’s moaning about a yank of the shorts. Not sure how that is even possible, but the ref asks the fans who’re rather vociferous in their response that no such thing happened. Gino, Vinny’s partner in the Bombers and who’s accompanying him at ringside, thinks that it’s a conspiracy against them! Mantell with a big uppercut before returning to a side headlock. High hip toss and Vinny takes to the floor for a breather and to get some words of advice from his partner. Another lock up that Johnny gets the better of, however this time the Bomber with a right hand on the break as he starts to fire back. Piledriver, instead of going for the pin though he’d rather play to the crowd. Vinny with a knee across the throat of his downed opponent while the official is struggling to keep things in order here. He admonishes the Bomber, but all that does is allow Gino to get in some shots on Mantell behind their backs. Johnny ducks the clothesline and some odd looking take down come throw sees both men out on the mat. Big reaction by the fans to that though. Vinny misses an elbow off the middle turnbuckle so tosses Mantell to the outside where Gino can work over him some more. These fans are brilliant with their reactions! Back inside and the Bombers aren’t even trying to hide Gino’s involvement now as he chokes Mantell over the ropes. Vinny takes a running leap at them, but Johnny moves and he crotches himself across the middle. The action continues and Mantell manages to block the hip toss and counter it into with backslide for the win. Post-match the Bombers claim they were “robbed” with Gino adamant that he did nothing when he was questioned by the commentators and was just out there supporting his partner.

 

This was wrestling at its simplest; a clear face/heel divide with very basic action that the fans lapped up. To be fair they were probably the highlight of the match for me with their reactions, very reminiscent of those WWC fans in the Carly/Gonzalez match from earlier in the month. While I enjoyed Gino’s work on the outside I didn’t think much of Vinny and kind of think that a tag match involving them would actually be pretty similar to this in any case. Night and day from what is happening in CZW, APW and pretty much everywhere else but Puerto Rico.